2020 (3) TMI 689

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....under Section 142(1) of the Act. 2. The petitioner is a company engaged in the business of software development. The petitioner had filed return of income for the assessment year 2011-12 by declaring total income of Rs. 1,52,73,876/- on 21/09/2011. 3. The case of the petitioner's company was taken up for scrutiny by issuing notice under Section 143(2) of the Act. Thereafter, assessments were concluded under Section 143(3) of the Act, on 31/01/2014 by the second respondent. Subsequently, M/s. Taxsmile.com India Pvt. Ltd., was amalgamated with M/s. eMudhra Ltd., in terms of the order of this Court dated 23/04/2015 passed in Company Petition No. 23/2015 and connected matters with the appointment date fixed as 01/04/2014. The second responden....

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....48 of the Act, the department was oblivious of the fact of amalgamation of company M/s. Taxsmile.com India Pvt. Ltd., with M/s. eMudhra Ltd. The petitioner has not informed the amalgamation ofthe company M/s. Taxsmile.com India Pvt. Ltd., withM/s. eMudhra Ltd., neither in the objections filed to the reasons recorded nor at any time, to the authorities. It is for the first time in this writ petition, the petitioner has come up with a plea of non-existence of the company M/s. Taxsmile.com India Pvt. Ltd. The Income Tax Department was not a party to the proceedings before this Court relating to the amalgamation of the company M/s. Taxsmile.com India Pvt. Ltd. 7. Learned counsel made an endeavour to distinguish the judgment of the Hon'ble Ape....

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....018 was issued by the second respondent forwarding the file for further action to DCIT-2(1)(2), Bangalore, wherein it is specifically stated that the jurisdiction of the assessee lies with the officer at Bengaluru, in view of the amalgamation of M/s. Tax smile.com India Pvt. Ltd. with M/s. eMudhra Ltd. The Compliance Response Sheet at Annexure-H, furnished by M/s. Tax smile.com India Pvt. Ltd, indicates that the said company has been merged with M/s. eMudhra Ltd and merged entity's return has been filed for the assessment year 2015-16 and the same has been acknowledged by the department. This document would disclose that the amalgamation of M/s. Tax smile.com India Pvt. Ltd with M/s. eMudhra Ltd, was within the knowledge of the department. ....

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....informed of the amalgamating company having ceased to exist as a result of the approved scheme of amalgamation, the jurisdictional notice was issued only in its name. The basis on which jurisdiction was invoked was fundamentally at odds with the legal principle that the amalgamating entity ceases to exist upon the approved scheme of amalgamation. Participation in the proceedings by the appellant in the circumstances cannot operate as an estoppel against law. This position now holds the field in view of the judgment of a co-ordinate Bench of two learned judges which dismissed the appeal of the Revenue in Spice Entertainment on 2 November 2017. The decision in Spice Entertainment has been followed in the case of the respondent while dismiss....